Hi! My name is Rebecca, and welcome to my blog. I live in North Carolina with my dog Luca, a Doberman Pinscher. By day I am a program manager at a software company, for the most part focused on global user experience for our internal systems.

Luca’s favorite place is on his comfy bed in front of the fireplace, or curled up on the couch.

I created this space to share ramblings, food, stories, photos and even more food. I’m an avid cook with a whole slew of opinions, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

With respect to food, what you won’t find here is anything with beef, chicken, pork or any other meat aside from fish and seafood. I’m a pescetarian by choice, which means I’m a vegetarian that eats fish and seafood. I eat a few dairy items and eggs occasionally, but try to use those sparingly and will probably try to eventually remove them from my diet. Except cheese, I can’t seem to give that up. Who doesn’t love cheese?? You’ll see a lot of vegetarian and some vegan recipes, along with seafood and fish. My recipes are loosely structured, I apologize in advance for those that need exact measurements for everything.

I’m resurrecting some of my family’s recipes, maybe some with a new twist. I may share some from a few of my favorite chefs – Jaime Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, Giada de Laurentiis, and Tyler Florence. I’m also a fan of anything Anthony Bourdain.

More stuff about me:

> I love living in the South, although I grew up in upstate New York (by upstate NY, I mean the actual upper half of the state and not Rochester or Buffalo). The climate is just about perfect here, and we have all four seasons. Fall is my favorite. It’s great when it starts to get cold, the leaves change, apple/cider season, Halloween and Thanksgiving.

> I used to have two Dobermans, and I had to put my first Dobie, Storm, down this past summer due to congestive heart failure. He was a wonderful dog and I miss him everyday. I adopted Luca from Doberman Rescue of the Triad to be a friend for Storm, and they had a very playful life together. I am debating adopting another dog to be a companion to Luca, but right now I think he’s enjoying being the ‘only child’. 🙂

This is my beautiful boy, Storm, when he was about seven months old.

> I’m quite passionate about animal welfare, and you will see some posts on the state of today’s factory farming. I believe it’s dreadful that we’ve come to this as humans and encourage everyone to move away from supporting this industry. It’s important to know where your food comes from, join your local CSA, and patronize farmers markets with local farmers.

> The music I listen to is usually alternative, metal or classic rock. My best concert moment was seeing Metallica and Guns n’ Roses at Rich Stadium in Buffalo, NY, with Tammi. Absolutely amazing show. Followed by my most interesting concert experience two weeks later in Montreal with Cora. Same bands, Montreal riot.

> Game of Thrones, Sons of Anarchy, The Americans, Criminal Minds, The Walking Dead, and Justified are my favorites on TV. Lots of stuff on the Cooking Channel and Food Network, and of course anything with Anthony Bourdain in it.

> I read when I can find the time, a mix of professional development, fiction and biographies. I am currently reading ‘Lean In’ by Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook.

That was a bit about me and my dog. I hope you enjoy what you read on my blog, please leave comments and let me know! 🙂

-Rebecca